Man in dramatic castle plunge rescue

A 36-year-old man had to be dramatically rescued after he plunged down the stony steps of an historic ruined fortress today.

The man was visiting the cliff-top Dunnottar Castle at Stonehaven with his wife and child this afternoon when he took a tumble.

Surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs, it took two ambulance crews and six members of the local coastguard to rescue the man so he could be transferred to hospital.

The man, who suffered a broken leg, fell down the sheer steps at the top tourist attraction at 1pm today.

Mark Cooper, a first aider who works at the castle, confirmed there had been an incident earlier today.

He said: “The man was with his wife and child. I was the first aider on duty and there was two ambulances and the coastguard from Stonehaven. The man was taken to hospital in Aberdeen.”

Mr Cooper said he was not aware of any previous accident at the castle.

“All the staff at Dunotter Castle wish him a speedy recovery,” he added.

A spokesman for the Scottish coastguard said there was six crew members at the incident.

He said: “We received a request for assistance at 12.58pm and our guys were there at 13.17pm.

“Paramedics were there with the man. They were administering morphine and it seemed like it was a bad break.

“If you look at the castle, there are very steep embankments and the ambulance crew needed man power and assistance to move the man.”

The 272 steep stone steps are part of the attraction to tourists visiting the secluded castle.

On review site TripAdvisor, one walker wrote: “You are in for a fairly treacherous climb and a decent workout if you visit Dunnottar Castle – the access to this place would be very difficult for anyone with mobility challenges.”